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CULTURE EXERCISES IN Work It Out! FAMOUS FRIENDS Famous Quakers or people who were raised as Quakers include Richard Nixon, who married in a Quaker ceremony in California; Joan Baez, who grew up in a Quaker family (her father, a physicist, refused to work on the atomic bomb project in Los Alamos); the Cadbury family, who believing that alcohol would only worsen14 society's problems, decided to focus their business on chocolate as a welcome alternative; James Dean, who was raised a Quaker and is today buried in a Quaker cemetery; and actress Judi Dench, who converted to Quakerism after attending a Friends school, reportedly15 because she loved the school uniforms. Also called the Religious Society of Friends, the Quakers are a religious community with a history dating back to the…

MUSIC When New York punk-rock band Blondie needed material for their 1978 album “Parallel Lines”, they dug up1 one of the first songs they had written four years earlier. It was a controversial change of genre: they considered the song a novelty and jokingly called it “the Disco Song”. Singer and co-writer Debbie Harry later told British newspaper The Guardian that disco “wasn’t too cool in our social set2. But we wanted to be uncool.” Harry and guitarist Chris Stein were a couple at the time, and they wrote the song in the dingy3 New York City loft they shared in a downtrodden4 district called The Bowery. “The lyrics”, Harry later claimed, “weren’t about anyone. They were just a plaintive5 moan6 about lost love.” The singer reflects on a failed7 love…

PLACES On 10 May 2024 celebrations begin for the bicentenary of the National Gallery in London. The anniversary, dubbed1 NG200, will be marked by an exciting year-long festival of art, creativity and imagination. The aim2 is to celebrate the past, but also set the tone for the gallery’s future. This includes reiterating one of the gallery’s original intentions, to bring great art into closer contact with people from all walks of life3. HISTORY OF THE GALLERY The National Gallery dominates Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London. The Neo-Renaissance building was designed by architect William Wilkins and opened in 1838. However, the collection was originally housed in more modest premises4 down the street at 100 Pall Mall. This was the former London townhouse of John Julius Angerstein, a…

LANGUAGE EXERCISES IN Work It Out! One of the challenges of learning to write is how to use punctuation correctly. Punctuation exists for a valid reason: to add clarity and precision to a written text. This is particularly true of the apostrophe, a punctuation mark that is so commonly misused1 that there is an organisation in the UK dedicated to preserving its correct usage: the Apostrophe Protection Society. MISSING LETTERS Apostrophes are used to indicate missing letters2, for example, in the words ‘it’s’, a contraction meaning ‘it is’ or ‘it has’; and ‘hasn’t’, meaning ‘has not’. They are also employed to denote possession or association, for example, ‘the cat’s bowl’, meaning ‘the bowl of the cat’. Unfortunately, apostrophes are often omitted or misplaced3 and, perhaps most disturbing of all to…

SCIENCE Are we on the verge of1 a new era in which brain disorders become a thing of the past, and we all merge seamlessly2 with artificial intelligence? This sci-fi future may seem one step closer after Elon Musk’s recent announcement that his biotech company, Neuralink, has implanted its technology into a human brain for the first time. But is mind-melding3 of this kind really on the way? And is it something we want? Founded in 2016, Neuralink is a newcomer4 in the world of brain-machine interfaces, or BMIs. The core technology5 has been around for decades, and its principles are fairly straightforward6. A BMI consists of probes7 — usually very thin wires8 — that are inserted into the brain at specific locations. These probes eavesdrop9 on the activity of…

PEOPLE EXERCISES IN Work It Out! Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Do not go gentle into that good night.” This is the title and first line of what…

FICTION A SHORT STORY I’m watching you,” Nellie Brown tells the teenage girl in the sweet section of her local shop. “I know what you’re up to1.” “What?” The girl gives her a bewildered2 look. “I’m not up to anything!” “Oh, we’ll see about that.” Nellie read an article just last week about the increase of theft3 in Ireland, and knows that young people like this girl are to blame4 — because young people are to blame for everything these days. “Young people these days… no respect!” she says, as she follows a group of boys down an aisle5 and waves6 her cane7 at them. Nellie doesn’t need her cane to walk. She can walk perfectly well, thank you very much. But the cane is a convenient instrument when she needs…

ARTICOLI PER LIVELLI Tutti i nostri articoli hanno un codice di colore che indica il livello di difficoltà dell’inglese in base al Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. A2 PRE-INTERMEDIATE B1 LOWER INTERMEDIATE B2 UPPER INTERMEDIATE C1 ADVANCED C2 PROFICIENCY GLOSSARIO In ogni articolo troverai le parole più rilevanti affiancate da un numero del colore corrispondente al livello di difficoltà, oltre alla traduzione nel glossario correlato. Gin and tonic is arguably1 Britain’s favourite drink ↘ GLOSSARY 1 arguably: probabilmente 2 to skyrocket: andare alle stelle EXPLAINS Le frasi evidenziate in giallo sono quelle che hanno bisogno di approfondimenti, come nel caso di riferimenti storici o culturali, frasi fatte, proverbi o espressioni di slang. Troverai la spiegazione alla fine dell’articolo. SPEAK UP IN CLASS Ogni mese su Speak Up troverai anche degli esercizi pensati per…

CULTURE In many places in the world, it is traditional to eat fish on Friday evening. In the UK, it is the perfect moment to treat yourself1 to fish and chips, and in the US some fast food restaurants offer fish burgers to attract customers on Fridays. But where does this tradition come from? To answer this question, we must go back a couple of millennia. FISHY TALES For a very long time, many Christians believed that the origin of Friday fasting2 was in a secret pact made by a medieval pope3 to boost4 the fishing trade5. By imposing the rule of eating fish on Fridays, fishermen were assured of making enough money to last through the week6. This was widely believed until relatively recently, when researchers looking through7 the…

PLACES EXERCISES IN Work It Out! SPEAK UP Explains Thorpeness. In inglese, il suffisso -ness viene aggiunto alla fine di un aggettivo per designare la qualità o la proprietà a cui l’aggettivo si riferisce. In questo caso, invece, -ness deriva dal norreno antico e significa ‘promontorio’, da cui proviene il suo uso diffuso nella toponomastica britannica per i luoghi costieri (Dungeness sulla costa del Kent, o Skegness nel nord dell’Inghilterra). Ness significa anche ’bocca’ in gaelico, dal quale proviene Loch Ness. Il motivo per cui il nome Thorpeness è stato cambiato è dovuto al fatto che nella zona esistono altre località chiamate Thorpe, ma non un’altra Thorpeness che, ovviamente, si trova su un promontorio. If you could dream a village into existence1, what would it look like? Perhaps something like…

INTERVIEW As the National Gallery’s archive dates back to 1824, it’s easy to imagine that, as well as the actual paintings, it houses a vast archive of documents relating to the various works. These documents include trustee minute books1, acquisition files, exhibition files and press cuttings2, but also posters, other kinds of promotional materials and historical photographs showing the interiors of the gallery and its development over time. Thousands of people access the archive each year for research purposes, and somebody has to sort3 and catalogue all the material and put it into historical context so as to turn it into a useful and navigable tool. But if that brings to mind the image of some kind of librarian working in a dusty4 basement5, then think again. Nick Smith joined the…

ENTERTAINMENT Bridgerton fans rejoice1: the fictional family returns to our television screens. The first season of the Netflix period drama was released on Christmas Day 2020, when the world was in need of some light relief2 — and Bridgerton delivered it in spades3. Set during the Regency period*, it followed the romantic trials and tribulations4 of London society, with luxurious settings and sumptuous costumes5, and classical renditions of pop music hits from the likes of Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish. A staggering6 eighty-two million households around the world watched the show. The second series was released in March 2022, and it surpassed the first in terms of the number of viewers. ONE CHILD AT A TIME Based on the best-selling books by American author Julia Quinn, each series tells the story…

CURRENT AFFAIRS Spend less than you earn. Invest your money wisely. Think twice before you buy anything you don’t actually need. These are just a few of the financial tips1 that John Eringman shares with over a million followers. Eringman is a twentyeight-year-old entrepreneur from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is one of a growing number of financial influencers, better known as ‘finfluencers’: internet celebrities who share advice about money management. CREDENTIALS Eringman, a graduate in finance from the University of Cincinnati, has “a passion for personal finance.” When he realised that schools don’t teach financial literacy2, he decided to make videos about it and post them online, where he is known as @johnefinance. T oday, he has more than 1.4 million followers. To find out more, Speak Up met with Eringman.…

PEOPLE INTERVIEW During his short but intense life, the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas wrote poems, plays and radio dramas that still resonate with1 people across the world. After his death in 1953, Thomas’s body was taken back to Wales, where it was buried in St. Martin’s churchyard2 in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, about thirty miles from Swansea, where he was born. Swansea is now home to the Dylan Thomas Centre, a permanent exhibition space dedicated to the poet, housed in Tŷ Llên or ‘House of Literature’. To find out more, Speak Up contacted Jo Furber, the Swansea Council3 Literature Officer and curator4 at the Dylan Thomas Centre. We began by asking her what makes Dylan Thomas’s poetry so accessible. Jo Furber (Welsh accent): Ultimately it’s the quality of the work. Because with…

www.speakup.it SPEAK UP PIÙ COMODO Il nuovo sito web di Speak presenta strumenti e risorse interattive per creare un’esperienza utente coinvolgente e dinamica. Le tecnologie all’avanguardia che abbiamo applicato e la moderna interfaccia permetteranno di esplorare nuovi modi divertenti per migliorare e praticare l’inglese con maggiore comodità. Scopri subito il nuovo sito e inizia esplorare la vasta gamma di articoli e risorse! TEST DI LIVELLO Verifica qual è il tuo livello di inglese con il nostro test gratuito e scopri i tuoi progressi con i nostri articoli classificati per difficoltà. ESERCIZI INTERATTIVI Leggi e ascolta gli articoli e controlla i tuoi progressi con l’inglese grazie ai nostri test interattivi. Super comodo! PRACTICAL ENGLISH Un ampio catalogo di lezioni di grammatica, consigli, e materiale scaricabile per imparare quando e dove vuoi.…

PLACES EXERCISES IN Work It Out! In 1951 George Whitman, an American expat1 in Paris, founded an English bookshop on the left bank2 of the River Seine3. He had arrived in the French capital in 1946, and his hotel room was jam-packed4 with books. His first attempt to sell them was from a boat, but they got damp5. With a $500 inheritance, he bought a former grocery store6 on 37 rue de la Bûcherie. He called his bookshop Le Mistral. SYLVIA BEACH In 1962, Le Mistral hosted a reading by the English novelist Lawrence Durrell. It was attended by a local icon, Sylvia Beach. Born in Baltimore in the US, Beach had come to Paris during World War One as a volunteer with the American Red Cross. In 1919, she…

TOP BRITS From his humble1 beginnings as the sixth child of a Norfolk clergyman2, Horatio Nelson rose3 to become one of the greatest figures in British military history. His brilliant victories over the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte, and his uncompromising4 courage, despite his disabilities, have established him as a symbol of national identity. CHILDHOOD IN THE NAVY Nelson was born on 29 September 1758. Aged twelve, he joined the navy as an apprentice, and was seasick5 on his first day. In fact, he suffered from seasickness all his life! Made captain at just twenty, Nelson spent his first service managing Britain’s commercial interests — including slavery — in the West Indies6. In 1787, he married Fanny Nisbet, a judge’s daughter, in the Caribbean. BRITAIN AT WAR In 1793, Britain entered…

SCAN, READ & LISTEN 09 PROFICIENCY C2 ↘ GLOSSARY 1 could hardly be farther apart: difficilmente potrebbero essere più distanti 2 paved footpaths: sentieri asfaltati 3 steep stairways: scale ripide 4 to tote: portare 5 jugs: brocche 6 to lug: trascinare 7 lopsided trades: scambi sbilanciati 8 bargain: affare 9 to swap: scambiare 10 speck: particella 11 to take delight in: apprezzare 12 to sum up: riassumere 13 nutmeg: noce moscata 14 patches of real estate: appezzamenti di immobili 15 cloves: chiodi di garofano 16 to swear allegiance: giurare fedeltà 17 daunting: intimorente 18 rough seas: mari mossi 19 shallow: poco profondo 20 tide: marea 21 deputy chief: vice capo 22 treaty: trattato 23 to crowd around: ammassati intorno 24 barren: sterile 25 push: impulso, spinta 26 to bind together: unire 27 to huddle: raggrupparsi 28 beached: arenarsi 29 steamy: umido 30 spotty: irregolare 31 running water: acqua corrente 32 to flush: tirare lo sciacquone 33 to plague: infestare, invadere 34 litter:…

ENTERTAINMENT INTERVIEW In the first two seasons of Bridgerton, fans watched Penelope Featherington, played by Nicola Coughlan, quietly pine for1 Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton. In season three, we finally see how their friendship develops into something more. The cast and crew2 got together to talk about the show and what we can expect of Penelope and Colin, whose names have been combined into ‘Polin’ by fans. Executive producer Shonda Rhimes started by sharing what she is personally looking forward to. Shonda Rhimes (American accent): I think what I’m most excited about, for the fans and for everybody, is that, usually, we’re meeting a new person who’s falling in love with one of our regulars. This time, we know the people who are falling in love. We’re already rooting…

DIALOGUES So, I think it’s time I managed1 my finances more pro-actively. Have your circumstances changed? I’ve just started a good job with a much higher salary. Congratulations! Let’s start with debt: do you have any? Any student loans still outstanding? No, nothing but the mortgage on my flat. OK. Now tell me, how do you spend your income2? The usual stuff3: the mortgage, utility bills4, food, going out, holidays. Do you put any aside for the future? Yes, I put a fixed amount in a high-interest savings account. That’s good. What about investments5 or a pension plan? No, nothing like that. I don’t like taking risks and I’m not that old. Oh, but the sooner6 you start, the better offyou’ ll be when you retire. I guess so. Also,…

CLASSIC BOOKS EXERCISES IN Work It Out! SCAN, READ & LISTEN 18 LOWER INTERMEDIATE B1 ↘ GLOSSARY 1 coming-of-age story: romanzo di formazione 2 weakness: debolezza 3 widow: vedova 4 charm: fascino 5 greed: avidità 6 to fake: fingere 7 to head to: dirigersi 8 runaway: fuggitivo 9 to set off: partire 10 raft: zattera 11 feuding: essere in lotta per 12 fraudsters: truffatori 13 reward: ricompensa 14 westward: verso ovest 15 unflinching: deciso 16 slang: gergo 17 to ban: vietare Mark Twain is the pseudonym of novelist and humourist Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Born in 1835, Twain grew up in Missouri on the Mississippi River. His stories, inspired by his own experiences, brought him international fame. The novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) was a bestseller. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, considered its sequel, is a coming-ofage story1 about innocence, morality, slavery — and human weakness2.…

An idiom dating back to medieval times, yet still in use today, “All roads lead to Rome” means that there are many different ways to achieve the same result. The saying refers to the vast network of roads built by the Romans, which at the height of the Roman Empire stretched for more than 400,000 kilometres from Rome. The idiom was first recorded in medieval Latin by French theologian Alain de Lille in 1175. In his Book of Parables, he wrote: “A thousand roads forever lead men to Rome.” Two hundred years on, the idiom appears again in the prologue of an instruction manual written by the English poet and author Geoffrey Chaucer. In his Treatise on the Astrolabe of 1391, Chaucer encourages his readers to learn how to use…